When worse comes to worst, my peoples come first.
Try to react, and get them motherfucking feelings hurt.
Havoc, “Survival of the Fittest,” from Mobb Deep’s The Infamous, 1995. More from the QB duo…
Posts Tagged With: east coast
My crew’s all about loot.
Fuck looking cute,
I’m strictly Timb boots and Army-certified suits.
Puffin L’s, laid back, enjoying the smell,
In the Bridge, getting down…it ain’t hard to tell.
Havoc, “Survival of the Fittest,” from Mobb Deep’s The Infamous, 1995.
From the bottom of my heart, that’s where the love starts:
The love for breakdancing, my love for the art.
And with this love, I do hip-hop from the soul,
A real MC, who never sweats how many copies are sold.
Yeah, I want to go gold, platinum, et ceteras,
But why put out some wackness when no one will respect ya?
I’m staying true, nuff respect to those that paved the way,
From Bambaata down to Shah (that be my DJ).
Without my peeps, I dont know how the hell I’d make it, word…
Sometimes I feel that my career is headed for the curb.
One love for the lendin’ hand and givin’ all your help,
Believing in me when I didn’t believe in my own self.
The Abstract, with whom I’m always making rugged tunes,
Kid Hood, restin’ in heaven, I hope to see you soon.
Phife Dawg, “Peace, Prosperity, and Paper,” from the High School High soundtrack, 1996. More from the Five Foot Assassin. Rest in power to Malik Taylor, better known as Phife from A Tribe Called Quest. 1970-2016.
Question: Why is that MC’s be wack
And major labels wanna sign that crap?
A-yo…funk that!
Phife Dawg, “One Two Shit,” A Tribe Called Quest’s The Love Movement, 1998. More from Phife. Rest in forever peace, Malik Taylor, the rapper known as Phife Dawg, who died Wednesday at the age of 45. 1970-2016.
Your whole appearance is a lie and it could never be true.
And if you really loved yourself, then you would try and be you.
Phife, “Butter,” from A Tribe Called Quest’s The Low End Theory, 1991. More from Phife. Rest in forever peace, Malik Taylor, the rapper known as Phife Dawg, who died Wednesday at the age of 45. 1970-2016.
I like ‘em brown, yellow, Puerto Rican or Haitian.
Name is Phife Dawg from the Zulu Nation.
Phife, “Electric Relaxation,” from A Tribe Called Quest’s Midnight Marauders, 1993. More from Phife. Rest in forever peace, Malik Taylor, the rapper known as Phife Dawg, who died Wednesday at the age of 45. 1970-2016.
Used to have a crush on Dawn from En Vogue.
It’s not like honey dip would wanna get with me,
But just in case I own more condoms than TLC.
Phife Dawg, “Oh My God,” from A Tribe Called Quest’s Midnight Maruaders, 1993. Rest in forever peace, Malik Taylor, the rapper known as Phife Dawg, who died Wednesday at the age of 45. 1970-2016.
Shorty thought she subtle but she really was blatant…
When she shook her thing and violated,
Now these wolf-like thoughts are formulated.
Q-Tip, “Vivrant Thing,” Amplified, 2000. More from Tip…
Peace to every single rapper on this whole earth;
Sellouts got no worth…
I think they better go soul search.
A.G., “Next Level,” from Show & A.G.’s Goodfellas, 1995
Battle physically, conquer mentally.
CL Smooth, “Take You There,” from Pete Rock & CL Smooth’s The Main Ingredient, 1994
I’m so def, I need a hearing aid with an equalizer.
Big L, “Yes You May (Remix),” 1992
They say, ‘Sorry son, accept it,’ same old song of the subjectors.
Sorry, sirs, but we don’t sing along to anthems or your pledges.
In your garbage rose the rulers of the restless: do not test us.
El-P, “Rubble Kings Theme (Dynamite),” from Rubble Kings soundtrack, 2016. More from Run the Jewels…
We live to love, and we love to rock mics.
We speak in ghetto tongue, cause ghetto’s the life.
Doodlebug, “Where I’m From,” from Digable Planets’ Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space), 1993. More from Digable Planets…
Dope is like a two-way street:
The addiction, both you and me, now take a seat.
Every car got a fleet, every broad get a Jeep,
Every sparkle in the club that wasn’t ours, we compete.
Poor minds, poor decision makers;
No reward…then what’s the risk you taking?
Pusha T, “M.P.A.,” King Push – Darkest Before Dawn: The Prelude, 2015. More from Pusha T…
MC’s are just hopeless:
They think record sales make them the dopest!
KRS-One, “Step Into a World (Rapture’s Delight),” I Got Next, 1997. More from KRS…
Reporting live from the project benches:
Hella caine, dope in cellophane, dirty syringes,
Heron zombies street-walking on three-week binges.
Clientele look like the Thriller vid in 3D lenses.
Beanie Sigel, “Keep Dealing,” from Pusha T’s King Push – Darkest Before Dawn: The Prelude, 2015. More from the Broad Street Bully…
Stay far from timid.
Only make moves when your heart is in it.
And live the phrase ‘Sky’s the Limit.’
Notorious B.I.G., “Sky’s the Limit,” Life After Death, 1997. More from Biggie…
I cause disasters, I am the master,
Turning little bastards into fucking Casper.
So put your name on a tombstone…
Cause when you try to kill me, I refuse to die alone.
MF Grimm, “Crumbsnatchers,” Scars & Memories, 2005. More grim quotes from Grimm…
If you can’t live, you dying,
You give or you buy in.
Keep it real or keep it moving,
Keep grinding, keep shining.
Raekwon, “Gorgeous,” from Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, 2010. More from Chef…
Why fuck with these cornball rappers when you can have the real thing?
Lord Finesse, “The Rhythm,” from Bas Blasta’s The Rhythm 12″, 1995. More from the L-O-R-D-F-I-N-E-double-S-E
She claims she loves my mind, cause I’m so intelligent,
But fuck my mental…she was scheming on my mint.
Jeru tha Damaja, “Me or the Papes,” Wrath of the Math, 1996. More from Jeru…
The thing that men and women need to do is stick together,
Progressions can’t be made if we’re separate forever.
Q-Tip, “Verses from the Abstract,” from A Tribe Called Quest’s The Low End Theory, 1991. More from the Abstract…
You know, I used to be a player…flygirl-layer and a heartbreaker,
Lovemaker, backbreaker, but then I made a mistake.
Yes, I fell in love with this ill chick,
Sweatin’ me for money, my name and the dilsnick.
My homeboys told me drop her cause it would be to my benefit;
She used to say I’d better quit hanging with those derelicts.
Guru, “Ex Girl to the Next Girl,” from Gang Starr’s Daily Operation, 1992. More from Guru…
Rosa Parks sat so Martin Luther could walk,
Martin Luther walked so Barack Obama could run,
Barack Obama ran so all the children could fly…
So, I’mma spread my wings, you can meet me in the sky.
Jay-Z, “My President is Black (Remix)” from Young Jeezy’s The Recession, 2008
Serve the curves, I never swerve I’m superb;
Every word you heard played tricks on your nerves.
LL Cool J, “Jinglin’ Baby (Remixed But Still Jinglin’),” Mama Said Knock You Out, 1990. More from Uncle L…
Smoke good, fuck, eat, drink.
Drive nice car, wear all green mink.
Action Bronson, “Terry,” Sincerely, Mr. Wonderful, 2015. More from Bronsolini…
Only thing we have in common: niggas bleed,
In ya thousand dollar joggers as you rhyme about ya dollars.
Is there shame when a platinum rapper’s mother lives in squalor?
Pusha T, “Crutches, Crosses, Caskets,” Darkest Before Dawn, 2015. More from King Push…
I never want a jheri curl up under my hat,
The woman in my bed has got to be strictly black,
I never want money if my lyrics are wack,
So I must…rock…the mic.
KRS-One, “Mortal Thought,” Return of the Boom Bap, 1993. More from The Blastmaster…
I’m a beast on the microphone, a night stalker,
A killing machine, a savage street talker,
Jason with an axe, but I put it on wax
To eradicate the suckers who thought I had relaxed.
LL Cool J, “Jack the Ripper,” Walking with a Panther, 1989. More from Uncle L…
The greatest lesson ever learned has yet to be taught.
Nas, “One Plus One,” from Large Professor’s The LP, 1996. More from Nasir…
Who do I blame if I’m not a success?
Do I blame it on my pops that left
When I was feedin on my mama’s breast?
Or do I blame it on society?
With all this black/white stuff…man this shit is real tough.
Freddie Foxxx, “So Tough,” Crazy Like a Foxxx, 1993
I know I’d be the man if I cold yanked the plug on R&B…but I can’t, and that’s bugged.
Q-Tip, “Buggin’ Out,” The Low End Theory, 1991. More from ATCQ…
I guess nobody told you a little knowledge is dangerous,
It can’t be mixed, diluted, it can’t be changed or switched.
Here’s a lesson if you’re guessing and borrowing:
Hurry, hurry step right up and keep following the leader.
Rakim, “Follow the Leader,” from Eric B. and Rakim’s Follow the Leader, 1988. More from Rakim…
Money is the key to end all your woes,
Your ups, your downs, your highs, and your lows.
Won’t you tell me last time love bought your clothes?
Run, “It’s Like That,” from Run-DMC’s self-titled debut, 1984
I wouldn’ta came and said my name and run some weak shit,
Puttin’ blurbs and slurs and words that don’t fit
In a rhyme, why waste time on the microphone?
I take this more serious than just a poem.
Rockin’ party to party, backyard to yard,
I tear it up y’all…and bless the mic for the Gods.
Rakim, “My Melody,” from Eric B. and Rakim’s Paid in Full, 1987. More from Rakim Allah…
Now, yo: Juice Crew’s the family, Slick Rick’s a friend of me
And Doug E. Fresh, Stet, KRS and Public Enemy.
Blahzay-blah, you know who you are:
The red, black and green, the sun, moon and star.
Knowledge of self is being taught here on after,
Peace in the name of I, Self, Lord and Master.
I come to teach and preach and reaching each
With the speech every leech I’ll impeach.
Drop science and build with math,
And the dumb, deaf and blind’ll feel the Wrath…of Kane.
Big Daddy Kane, “Wrath of Kane (Live),” It’s a Big Daddy Thing, 1990. More from Kane…
Got the new Hummer in the summer when,
I was a newcomer then,
Drugs and Mac-10s, hugs from fake friends.
Make ends: they hate you,
Be broke: girls won’t date you.
Notorious B.I.G., “Long Kiss Goodnight,” Life After Death, 1997. More from Biggie…
Y’all niggaz ain’t rapping the same,
Fuck the flow, y’all jacking our slang,
I seen the same shit happen to Kane,
Three cuts in your eyebrow trying to wild out.
The game is ours, will never foul out,
Y’all just better hope we gracefully bow out.
Jay-Z, “Do It Again (Put Ya Hands Up),” Vol. 2…The Life and Times of S. Carter, 1999. More from Jay…
Lyrically def and connecting, complete mic-wrecking…
No double-checking, vocals kill like weapons.
Guru, “Mass Appeal,” from Gang Starr’s Hard To Earn, 1994. More from Guru…
‘Cause in my physical I can express through song,
Delete stress like Motrin, then extend strong.
I drink Moet with Medusa, give her shotguns in hell
From the spliff that I lift and inhale…it ain’t hard to tell.
Nas, “It Ain’t Hard to Tell,” Illmatic, 1993. More from Nas…
It ain’t hard to tell, I excel then prevail,
The mic is contacted, I attract clientele.
My mic check is life or death, breathing a sniper’s breath,
I exhale the yellow smoke of buddha through righteous steps.
Nas, “It Ain’t Hard to Tell,” Illmatic, 1993. More from Nas…
Gun control means using both hands, in my land.
Posdnuous, “Stakes Is High,” from De La Soul’s Stakes Is High, 1996. More from the D.A.I.S.Y. Age…
Never forget that I’m the one you thought wouldn’t make it.
I used to make money…now I just take it.
Buckshot, “I Gotcha Opin,” from Black Moon’s Enta Da Stage, 1993. More from Black Moon…
I’m sick and tired of these fake-ass niggas,
Saying that they’re catching bodies when they never pulled a trigger.
I know your style, I’ve seen it before,
You wearing army suit, now you think you’re hardcore.
Drinking on your 40’s, smoking on your blunts,
Can’t afford a chain so you wear gold fronts…
You fakin’ the funk, kid.
And you’d be getting it up the ass if you ever did a fucking bid.
Fat Joe, “The Shit Is Real (Remix),” Jealous One’s Envy, 1993
My whole persona’s kinda laid back like a recliner,
And since a minor, I been fucking with marijuana.
AZ, “Rather Unique,” Doe or Die, 1995. More from AZ…
I know the price, know the risk, know the wrongs and the rights;
Still my blood flows ice…it’s just my life.
Jay-Z, “In My Lifetime (Remix),” 12", 1994. More from Hov…
Asparagus tips look yummy, yummy, yummy,
Candied yams inside my tummy.
A collage of good eats, some snacks or nice treats,
Apple sauce and some nice red beets.
This is what we snack on when we’re questin’.
Q-Tip and Phife, “Ham n’ Eggs,” from A Tribe Called Quest’s People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm, 1990. More from ATCQ…
Times are hard in the ghetto, I gotta steal for a living;
Eating turkey-flavored Now & Laters for Thanksgiving.
DMX, “Born Loser,” 12”, 1993
They call it Thanksgiving, I call your holiday ‘Hell Day’
Cause I’m from poverty, neglected by the wealthy.
Nas, “What Goes Around,” Stillmatic, 2001. More from Nas…
Back in the days was kinda crazy, kid: I started out with nothin’.
Wasn’t livin’ like Thanksgiving; I was turkey without the stuffin’.
Kool G. Rap, “Blowin’ Up in the World,” 4,5,6, 1995. More from G Rap…